


Inheritance System

by slightlyjillian



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Multi, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-03-10 03:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3275045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlyjillian/pseuds/slightlyjillian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Episode 2x10 Survival of the Fittest. Finding the City of Lights wasn't the only quest given to John Murphy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inheritance System

**Author's Note:**

> post-episode 2x10. While in the lull between episodes, I scribbled down some of my favorite dangling plot points from the show and mixed in a few wild speculations. This unlikely story is what happened. Please enjoy and thanks for reading!

_"It's time to leave, Murphy."_

The words were a chorus that filled his every waking thought. 

_"It's time to leave, Murphy."_

The idea took root as Murphy swept the dirt along the Ark walls upon which he stood. After the fall from space, the gravity of Earth only pulled one direction. Ceiling became walls. Walls served as floors. 

_"It's time to leave, Murphy."_

But where could he go? Their home was topsy-turvy. The choices made by the current Ark leadership were backwards as their enemy became a dangerous ally. 

The chaos caused by the Grounder presence only accentuated for Murphy the sheer insanity that was trying to bring peace between the Sky People and the Grounders, the Tree People or whatever they called themselves. 

_"It's time to leave, Murphy."_

More proof of the unstable floundering of reality, Jaha offered Murphy a gun and then he followed him into the forest.

.:.

_"When you have an opportunity, take it. Escape."_

Escaping hadn't crossed his mind before. Murphy was quite certain that he only had the thought after he heard it whispered into his ear. 

.:.

As Jaha's disciples gathered at the drop ship and Jaha pontificated his quest for the City of Lights to Murphy, he took a moment to evaluate the benefit.

Then, as clear as the daylight through the trees, Murphy heard Finn's voice. 

Finn said, _"Going with Jaha doesn't mean that you're_ following _him. Just that you're going someplace new."_

Murphy glanced over his shoulder. He studied the drop ship, the place that had become home even for all that those early days had been a bittersweet hope. Working with Bellamy to build the wall, establishing a sort of order in which they were free of the Ark rules. Even the brief belief that justice or mercy might be achieved had bloomed in their hearts. Perhaps someone could embody those ideals. Perhaps he could trust Bellamy. Or should they follow Clarke? Then there had been Finn. Finn.

Murphy felt so much older now. 

So when he looked in the doorway of the drop ship, he saw Finn striking a casual pose. Finn's lips pulled back into a knowing grin. 

Murphy muttered, "Fantastic, why don't you haunt me too?"

"Glad to oblige," replied Finn's ghost. “Let's go.”

.:.

"I tried speaking with Clarke," Finn explained as he and Murphy paced far ahead of the rest of Jaha's group. "She's not in a place where she wants to hear me."

"While that's all very interesting,” Murphy whispered, vexed, “Are you sure you didn't see a white light?" He scowled at the boy who appeared to be walking next to him. "Maybe you weren't looking hard enough."

"It's difficult to explain," Finn answered, brow furrowed. "I'm only aware when I am with someone. When they are close to me or close to acknowledging that I'm still here."

The dappled sunlight danced across Finn's skin and the plants seemed to bend under his feet. Glancing behind, Murphy realized none of the others seemed to notice the dead boy and certainly didn't remark on Murphy holding a conversation with thin air. 

"You're dead. And I'm going crazy," Murphy eventually complained. "So unless you're here to bestow some great knowledge from beyond the grave on me, could you leave?"

Finn shrugged, adding a little skip to his step. "Can't seem to do that. Or more specifically I cannot. Perhaps you could do it. Clarke sent me away," he hesitated. "But when I saw you next, it was as if I became more solid. More present and less likely to slip away."

Murphy sighed, twice. Heavily. "The universe is punishing me."

"Possibly both of us," Finn agreed. "I can't say I don't deserve it. I remember everything.” His expression dimmed and the day seemed to fall under a shadow. “But it all seems so obvious now that everything isn't... so immediate. I've made so many mistakes. "

“Do all dead people talk this much?” Murphy grumbled, trying to hide his blossoming curiosity.

“I'll ask... if I see any,” Finn chuckled with a glance around their surroundings. Then he disappeared. 

“Great, just great.” Murphy frowned, ragged with the strange emotion of failure creeping into mind. He only then noticed how far he had buried any reflection on Finn's death. Swallowing hard, Murphy slowed his step allowing Jaha and the rest to creep closer.

.:.

One of the four women, Murphy had elected not to get too chummy with the company or to learn their names, refilled his tin bowl with more of the soup they had made. 

“Seconds, how generous,” he mocked, scooping a thick chunk of the mystery animal meat into his mouth. 

“Your bowl was smaller than the rest.” Her smile reminded him of the Ark teachers. _Don't worry if you can't read, John. We're sure you'll catch up._ Lies. Lies hidden in smiles.

Jaha had been circling the camp. Laughing with the two men in guard uniforms. Next he embraced another lunatic engineer who agreed to join the quest and they slapped each other on the back. For all of his speeches, Bellamy had not seemed so maniacally driven as Jaha did about this. 

Perhaps that was the difference between life-and-death survival and a fool's errand.

“John?” 

The jury was out on that familiarity. Murphy tilted back to better see the older man but he refused to stand, even for Jaha's out-stretched arm.

“Perhaps next time you could share some tips on how you were able to catch that creature. Having meat tonight was delicious,” Jaha said, cheerfully with an edge of caution. Murphy appreciated the wariness. Perhaps Jaha wasn't completely stupid.

“Yeah, sure,” Murphy scoffed. “Point and shoot. But I don't know if I'd call it delicious, unless someone had the inability to taste.”

“You proved yourself to be very stealthy,” Jaha praised, “A good skill to have on Earth.”

“That's me,” Murphy replied. “A natural at killing.”

“I can see how the others would have used you,” concluded Jaha, nodding as if they had agreed about anything. Murphy dropped his eyes to scrape at the last remnants of his dinner, waiting until Jaha gave up and left.

“I thought he would never leave,” Finn declared. He was sitting right at Murphy's side and on the same overturned log. Finn propped up his head, elbows on his knees. His eyes twinkled in the half-light.

“Ok,” Murphy mumbled. “What brought you back? It's been nearly a week. I figured you had found your tunnel to heaven or slipped into hell by now.”

“I just remember you. And here you are again,” Finn mused. “Obviously somewhere different than the last time you saw me. I take it that you're nearer to the wasteland. Funny, I can feel the...”

“How do you know about that?” Murphy asked, then didn't care for an answer. Which suited, as Finn didn't give one. So Murphy asked the question that had occurred to him in the long silences of avoiding his new companions. “Are you really Finn?”

“Who else would I be? A supernatural creature? An angel?” Finn considered the question. “I think I'm me. That's all I can say with certainty. And I remember us. The time I lived with the one hundred. I still remember the look on your face when I took that panther meat right from under you. That tasted good by anyone's standards...”

Murphy rubbed his forehead, looking at Finn from under the cover of his curled fingers. “Or I am going crazy. I swear, you were the only person left who I thought gave a damn about me. I never had a chance to thank you for blowing up Raven's idea to float me. Hand me over to the Grounders...”

But he was talking to no one. In the space of one blink, Finn had gone.

.:.

“So what happens when you die?”

“I'm not entirely sure what I can tell you,” Finn explained with the sort of facial expression that says _Please Believe Me._ On anyone else Murphy would have called them a liar. If this was truly Finn's spirit, then Murphy could take him at face value.

Finn continued, “I don't want to tell you something just to be making up an answer, you know? Truth is I don't know.”

Murphy found himself reunited with Finn during a patrol scouting around the site where they had set up camp. He had inadvertently learned that Billy was the best of the bunch as far as Earth Skills. So after crossing the wasteland, Murphy and Billy were assigned turns moving ahead of the others in order to search out the easiest paths, the safest path, and the correct path.

So when Finn suddenly appeared a dozen meters down the path he'd chosen, Murphy could hardly blame himself for pulling his gun, pulse pounding.

“Haven't got any news on how Raven is doing?” Murphy snorted. He rubbed the cold away from his nose, the metal of the gun gliding along his chin. 

“No,” Finn sighed. “I haven't seen anyone except you.”

“Don't sound so disappointed,” Murphy bantered, tucking away the gun. “Might as well keep me company. You can tell me stories of being the Spacewalker or some shit like that to help me pass the time.”

“What are you doing?” Finn inquired.

“Trying to figure out how to get to Jaha's City of Light,” Murphy said, steeped with self-loathing that he'd signed up for something so ludicrous.

“Oh, I can help with that one,” explained Finn. He hurried to keep up with Murphy's quickening steps. Finn continued, “And before you ask me how I know, I don't know except that I do know. It seems like I'm a cord in a loose socket. Sometimes I can connect to this knowledge, and other times I'm in the dark.”

“And you believe that what you know is correct?” Murphy doubted.

Finn hesitated. He considered his answer while giving Murphy a long look. As if a ghost had any reason to refrain from sharing his full opinion. “Yeah,” Finn said at last. “I know I'm right. Because I've been right before... for Clarke. Except...”

“What do you mean?” Murphy probed. “Just say it quickly and then we can be on our way.”

“I just helped the rest of them out of trouble when someone tried to poison Lexa...”

“So that was you? I see,” Murphy interrupted. “And I suppose you just jostled the plug until you could figure out who did it?”

“I don't know, Murphy,” admitted Finn. “It feels like a memory. Like I should have been there. Living. And that I had my part I was supposed to play if I hadn't been...”

“Killed?” Murphy supplied. The birds stopped singing. He halted and lifted his hand to Finn, as if the ghost's movements could be detected by anyone else. The birdsong began again.

“Maybe I was supposed to go with you and Jaha on this mission,” Finn guessed. “And at the same time, I feel like I've already done all of this before...”

“Can Jaha see you?” Murphy started along the path again.

“No, not that I can tell,” Finn drug out the words, looking long toward the opposite direction. “And we need to go that way. I think.”

.:.

It turned out Finn's directions were remarkably accurate. Murphy crouched at the edge of the forest line and pulled out the spyglass to scan the buildings in the horizon. Something larger in the distance cast a shadow over those buildings while reflecting back the sunlight with a dazzling brilliance.

“City of Lights?” Finn guessed, sounding smug.

Murphy summarized what he saw. “It's a sprawling village. The buildings aren't much to speak of. Tents even. But the closer they get to that wall of light it's more densely populated. A gate. So I guess it is a wall.”

“It's so big,” mused Finn. “What is Jaha's plan?”

.:.

“Good work, John,” Jaha praised, dropping the spyglass and reaching out to grasp Murphy's shoulder. Murphy winced caught somewhere between the initial reactions of pride and dismay. 

As the sun set, the wall around the City of Light revealed itself to be a giant structure of metal and glass. Electric lights popped on in several windows. The village outside glowed with streetlamps outlining the broadway that stretched right to the open gate. Flood lights pointed to the mouth as if those doors were never closed.

“That's a pretty confident gesture,” Murphy pointed out. “Leaving the gates open.”

“It's as if they would welcome strangers,” Finn commented, leaning in close to Murphy.

“What was that?” Arms crossed, Jaha turned back to stare at Murphy.

“Ah.” Murphy rubbed at his nose, a motion that he seemed incapable of preventing. “It looks as if they're unusually welcoming of strangers.”

Jaha tilted his head back. His lips spread as if he would say something to match the intensity of his gaze, but then he relaxed. He shook his head, “Want to go check it out, John? Be our eyes and ears?”

Murphy scoffed, “Yeah, sure. Why not?” He'd recklessly agreed to everything that Jaha had asked so far. Why start protesting now?

Finn didn't say much. But whenever Murphy looked for Finn, the ghost boy was still within sight.

.:.

Murphy left everything behind except his knife, a few items that might enable him to trade, and Finn. He approached the outlying tents watching families tend to pots over fires, crafting clothing and hammering fashionable accessories. One woman appeared to be teaching a small number of adults a local language. The ground of the broadway was well traveled and dust soon covered Murphy from his knees down. Murphy grunted his annoyance.

“Me too,” chuckled Finn, bending over to knock off some of the filth in a futile gesture.

A gaggle of elementary aged children raced past, nimbly avoiding the travelers and merchants moving their wares. Murphy noticed that they somehow knew to navigate around Finn as well.

“Are you sure no one can see you besides me?” Murphy questioned.

“Only you,” Finn confirmed. “The only way I can make sense of it is that I am here. Or I was meant to be here. Or I will be here...”

“Except for the dead part, remember,” remarked Murphy. 

“If I can help you, I will, John,” Finn announced. He blinked a few times cutting through a dark lull then tried to smile. “I owe you.”

“Ugh,” Murphy groaned. “What is it with calling me 'John' all of a sudden... ?”

“Jaha does it,” observed Finn.

“I know and don't think that isn't awkward,” complained Murphy. He hurried through a stretch of empty road before being absorbed into the crowd again. This part of the village seemed to contain organized shops and more stationary craftsmen. The density of the crowd made the already humid day nearly insufferably damp even for the wintery chill that froze Murphy's extremities. 

A shout came from behind, and Murphy found himself being pulled to the side. Flung into the tightly packed shoppers, Murphy belatedly noticed the tall riders on mean-spirited creatures stomping through at a rapid pace. The warriors were visibly armed and while they wore simple, sparse uniforms their hair flew thick, full and blond like the manes of their horses. 

Finn released Murphy's shoulder and both boys stared at each other in prolonged shock.

“Thanks,” Murphy stated simply.

“I wasn't sure I could,” Finn wondered.

“Well just add it to your bag of tricks,” Murphy stuttered, hating to be off-guard but basking in the rare pleasure of having someone watch his back. Anyone watch his back. Even ghost Finn.

.:.

Those at the wall and gate came and went without any checkpoints. It seemed a rather lazy way of defending a city, especially after all the violence Murphy had seen on Earth thus-far. A few well-dressed men stood in the shadow of the wall while conducting a lively debate. Nearby, attendants acting like servants would offer beverages to drink or hold capes and coats when the business of discussion grew hot.

“Politicians?” Finn guessed. “Elite merchants?”

“Now that's more familiar.” Murphy pointed, having noticed some other, more covert, transactions just inside the wall. 

“It does seem familiar,” agreed Finn, but he was standing on the inside of the wall and staring upward.

“No,” Murphy argued. “I meant them.” 

Not far away a striking pair of siblings, twins possibly, engaged in flirtatious catcalls to those who passed by. They stood out for the bright colors of their clothes and the unlikely red of their hair. Murphy suspected that what seemed a brother and sister were truly both boys. 

“What are you thinking?” Finn queried, rejoining Murphy and sharing in the long look. 

“Who knows everything about everyone? All their secrets?” Murphy asked, truly to himself although Finn listened.

“She is very pretty,” Finn observed, patiently waiting for whatever Murphy had schemed.

“He,” Murphy corrected.

“Okay, if that's who you...”

“Both of them,” Murphy huffed. “Don't be surprised and don't insult her before I've had a chance to ask.” He stomped toward the noisy red-heads, having to weave and dart his way through the cross traffic of people hurrying to their destinations. Through the ruckus, Murphy could barely make out Finn's complaints.

“It's not like they were going to hear me anyway.”

.:.

Tiamat introduced herself first and then called over her brother, Tannin. They were of similar height and build. Moreover they both decorated their faces in patterns exaggerating those Murphy found more familiar to his peers than those of the Tree People. He relaxed in their presence, which was clearly part of their charm. Not that he cared what they else they chose to used their charms for. It had been so long since anyone had given thought to prioritize Murphy's interests.

“Oh we've lived here all of our lives,” Tiamat answered Murphy's questions. A curious sparkle stayed in her eyes even as she smiled with indisputable kindness. 

“And how long is that?” Murphy tugged at his ear, having a hard time meeting that gaze.

“You're the sort who only wants to ask. You don't want to buy,” challenged Tannin. He crossed his arms, cautious but not looking for a fight. Murphy found his attention drawn toward the freckled forearms as they tugged closed Tannin's vest. Murphy's instincts started to toss in general alarm, except he couldn't focus on exactly what he had noticed.

Fortunately, Finn had noticed the same with more clarity. “Murphy, that emblem!”

The crossed parallelograms were faded, but clearly the intended design of the torn stitching. Murphy breathed, “DLR.”

“What?” Tiamat had overheard. Her interest shut down and her lips pulled into a tight line. Tannin scratched his thumb nail over the symbol on his patch.

“So this is what happened,” Finn continued, stunned. “That's what was so familiar. Murphy, the wall!”

“How else would a stranger know?” Tannin turned to his sibling. “Unless the rumors are true?”

“Yeah, we're the same,” Murphy drawled. “So that's the lightbulb moment for all of us, isn't it?” He didn't know what he had expected. He knew that he hadn't even considered this. He didn't know how to react. He didn't know what Tiamat and Tannin could be thinking.

“Sure enough. This wall is what's left of the Thirteenth Station...” Finn breathed, spinning to take it all in. “I can't believe I'm seeing this and yet there it is. Survivors from that nation...” 

Murphy grimaced at Finn's untempered amazement. “This is Germany.”

.:.

“Our forefathers had no interest in reaching out to the Sky People after the battle in space that dropped us back to Earth,” Tannin explained while encouraging Murphy to stay as a guest in their home along the city wall. Tiamat retreated from the main room to make quite a ruckus that manifest as cups and a pitcher of some sweet fruit drink.

“Take your time with it,” Tiamat teased, tracing the line of Murphy's neck with her nail. “Otherwise it'll all go to your head and we won't see you again until you've slept it off.”

“Thanks,” Murphy followed her with a lazy toast. He didn't know if the movement carried a similar meaning in her new hybrid culture, but she smiled all the same.

Finn patrolled the room, announcing it clear of danger. Murphy relaxed. He sipped the juice which proved to be far stronger than his preference. 

Tannin was unceasing in his speculation. Once he started talking he seemed unable to stop, only pausing long enough to wait for Murphy's nod or shrug to continue. He told of the crash, a drop from the sky which was far enough in their history that no one who survived still lived to tell of it. They had remained isolated, but chose to open the gate to those who were exiles or strangers to the surrounding territory. The guard adapted and allowed themselves to be absorbed into the neighboring tribes. Ice and Sand both considered the land neutral and a dual leadership along with the German independent Chancellor had been established. 

“The pure-Germans remaining are very few,” Tiamat interjected. She had finished her primping and settled on a mat set next to Murphy's. “But the spirit of welcoming granted our ancestors a tentative allowance to remain separate. Autonomous.” 

“Yeah, we could have used a few friendlier neighbors after our hard landing on Earth,” Murphy admitted, swirling the drink. He wondered if he could set it down unfinished and not offend his hosts.

“I thought I should dislike someone from the Twelve Stations,” Tannin admitted. “But you're amusing.”

“I don't hear that one very often,” Murphy laughed. He looked for Finn and found the ghost shaking his head with a bewildered grin.

.:.

“I wonder what could have been different for us,” Murphy asked into the darkness of the sleeping room, long after Tannin and Tiamat had left him alone. If they went to sleep or to continue their business, he hadn't been certain. 

“Finn?” he shifted, squinting into the dark silence.

“Yeah, I'm here,” Finn's voice came from the far wall. Murphy imagined him sitting and bracing himself for the long wait for morning while Murphy slept.

“What if Clarke hadn't strung me up? What if I hadn't left camp? Would I have died like Mbege? Or would things have been better?” Murphy paused. “Or worse?”

He heard Finn chuckle, then the ghost contributed, “What if I hadn't gone exploring when the camp went crazy after Well's death? What if I had managed to establish peace with Lincoln's people at the bridge instead of...”

Silence lingered where the questions slipped away from hopeful optimism. Reality was cruel.

Murphy didn't think often of the massacre. The god-awful series of events that tipped a desperate kid into a blind pull on a trigger. As often as those who weren't there wanted to blame him, Murphy himself still felt a general confusion over how something could go so horrifically wrong.

“I wonder how often the Germans saw the Ark and wanted to blow us out of the sky,” Murphy tossed, sliding sideways into a dream.

.:.

The generosity of the twins was only matched by their endless questions and shameless flirting. Murphy finally zipped his jacket all the way to his neck. He protested, “Your fingers are cold.” Which earned a laugh and conveyed his message well enough, although Tiamat still leaned close. 

Her eyes drifted over Murphy's shoulder. Then she looked back to catch him watching her. 

“What?” Murphy declared.

“Who did you lose?” she asked, quiet and discreet. Tannin pushed back his chair. He left them alone after tipping his head toward Tiamat as if the conversation had already been agreed. Murphy swallowed, deciding to wait for an explanation.

“The spirit who chose you,” Tiamat explained. “He is also your friend. You know him. Is that why you resist his rebirth?”

“What?” breathed Murphy, uncomprehending. Finn suddenly dropped to the ground near their mats. He tossed his hair and couldn't seem to rest his gaze long on either Murphy or Tiamat.

“He's here,” Tiamat squinted. “This was a place where he was meant to be. And in his place, you came.”

“Ask her what that even means!” Finn exclaimed. Murphy repeated the question. His lips felt numb.

“All around you is this... potential.” Tiamat traced Murphy's face with her fingers. “The locals call it reincarnation. But it's not the soul's actual rebirth, from what we can tell. It's the purpose of the soul. Leaders. Healers. But you... I don't think it's that.”

“Nope, no leading or healing,” Murphy scoffed. He dropped his eyes. It didn't help that complete strangers, perfectly nice and good people, could immediately pin-point his excessive limitations in character.

“Wisdom,” she guessed, tilting her head. “Or peace. Perhaps your friend was of noble character. An emissary.”

“Yeah, he was something like that,” Murphy's eyes brimmed with a frustrating overload of emotions as he boldly turned to see look.

Finn smiled weakly. “I don't think I deserve to be called any of those things anymore.”

“It doesn't matter,” Murphy replied. “You were _pardoned_. You should be here. You were _good_ at this. And if anyone deserved a second chance it was you... not...”

“Don't you dare say that,” Finn interrupted. “Don't say you don't deserve this. Because apparently...” Finn considered Tiamat who sat quietly amazed. He continued, “Apparently, my soul wants you to accept this.”

“I would rather have you here,” grumbled Murphy.

“Don't be afraid,” Tiamat interrupted. “All the people on Earth honor the reincarnation. And it means that when your story is over, your soul will choose the next.”

Murphy stared. “I think he's wasting it. But whatever, ok...”

“Tannin went to tell the Chancellor that you are coming,” Tiamat explained. “But you might want to return to your people and prepare. Now that you know. And because you've accepted this.”

“I didn't...” protested Murphy.

“She really likes you, John,” said Finn. “I think the first thing you should do is insist on a marriage alliance with Tiamat.”

Murphy choked on a laugh, but he never had an opportunity to speak his retort. 

Finn was gone.

.:.

Tiamat guided Murphy out of the City of Lights. They talked of many things including an arranged signal by which she could indicate a time for his safe return. She had taken Murphy's hand during the last stretch of the broadway. Before releasing him, she pressed a chase kiss into his cheek. 

“I don't feel any different, Tiamat,” Murphy confessed. “I'm just a soldier at best.”

“Military and Intelligence, how sexy,” she tweaked his nose. “You're not meant to be the same Emissary as he was but to accept that you are the next Emissary.”

“I don't see any of this being simple,” he resisted. “But I'd say we both know life's that way already. I'm coming back,” he promised, remembering Finn's final words. “And I want to know you better then.”

“You are going to be bad for business,” she snorted.

“That's the plan,” Murphy pulled away. He spread his arms, remembering when he had left Bellamy much the same. Then following Finn. Now he followed Finn again. He hoped to see all the best opportunities that Finn would have taken to establish peace. So close, he could sense it. He could feel the desire in his bones. The revelation was always: Who are you? Who would you rather be? 

This time. This time things would be different.

John smiled, taking in her countenance and committing it to memory. 

“Parting,” he smirked, “Such sweet sorrow, right?”


End file.
